10 Ways To Stay Entertained When The Power Goes Out

There would be no power to use your fridge or freezer, telephone lines would be down and phone signal lost. Your mobile phones will be useless as the battery dwindles, with no back up charging option. Your gas central heating won’t work and your water supply would soon stop pumping clean water.

Power Outage Tips Use a generator, but ONLY outdoors and away from windows. Do not use a gas stove or oven to heat your home. Disconnect appliances and electronics to avoid damage from electrical surges. Have alternate plans for refrigerating medicines or using power-dependent medical devices.

1. If you have a fireplace, use it. Via ctsweep.com.
2. Finally start reading that book you’ve been thinking about starting to read for years now.
3. Draw or paint.
4. Write a letter to someone special.
5. Board Games!
6. Get drunk.
7. Clean your house.
8. Lights Off, Pants Off, Dance Off.

Good options include low-sodium canned beans, vegetables, fruit (packed in fruit juice), breakfast cereal, peanut butter, pouches of fully cooked whole grains, nuts, whole-wheat crackers, snack bars, and shelf-stable milk or plant milk (the kind sold in aseptic boxes in the grocery aisle).

In order to shower during a power outage, your home has to be equipped with a traditional tank-style water heater. Additionally, it needs to have hot water already in reserve, which it should but might not. So yes, if you have a tank water heater and the power went out recently, you’re probably good to take a shower!

Generally, the power goes out for two reasons; a circuit breaker or fuse is tripped in your home, or the power lines themselves are affected. If the power has gone out just in your house, or some items are working but some aren’t, it’s a sign that the cause is somewhere in your electrical system.

Can I shower or flush my toilet during a power outage? o Yes, you can still use a toilet in a power outage, and if it has trouble flushing you can easily fix this problem by pouring water into the bowl. o Showering during a power outage is perfectly safe.

Pump-assisted toilets: Most toilets use water pressure and gravity to function, which means that a power outage will not affect them. Depending on the amount of water remaining in the pipes, you might be able to flush your toilet several times while the power is out.

On the other hand, if your water removal system is powered by electricity, flushing the toilet during an outage can become problematic. With this type of system, waste gathers inside a specially designed chamber and is then transferred into the sewer by an electric pump. Without electricity, the pump won’t work.

If you’re in a house: Water should continue to flow for a little while after the outage but it will most likely run at a lower pressure than you’re used to. Water can run out quickly if large quantities are used right after the power outage, depleting the main reservoir.

A woodstove or fireplace can be a lifesaver during a power outage, and not only as a general source of heat. You can also boil water as you would over a campfire, with the pot placed atop a woodstove, or via the built-in water reservoirs some models include.

If you have a conventional tank-style water heater powered by electricity, your water heater will stop heating water in the event of a power outage. However, water that has already been heated up to the point when the power goes out will remain hot for some time while stored in the insulated tank.

Unplug appliances with electronic components, such as microwaves, televisions and computers. This will help to eliminate damage to your appliances from voltage surges when the electricity is restored. Wait a few minutes before turning on these appliances when the electricity is restored.

If the power outage is limited to your home, check your main breaker to see if it’s tripped. Flip the switch back on if it is tripped, which may restore your power. If you are only experiencing a partial power outage, you can try to turn on your electric dryer or range as a test.

Tripped breaker: The localized outage could be caused by a tripped circuit breaker. This can happen if a circuit is overloaded or has been spiked by a defective appliance. Unplug all of the appliances in the room, and check your breaker. If a tripped breaker is the cause, this process should restore power to that room.

Storms: Wind, heat, ice and snow are the most common causes of widespread power outages.